Born in 1632, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek got to celebrate his 384th birthday on Monday through Google Doodle.
While he might not be a household name in the present, the Dutch textile salesman made his own lenses like Galileo and is credited as the first microbiologist, gaining the title of "Father of Microbiology" for being the primary person to observe and describe microorganisms that led to the existence of bacteria, single celled creatures, and spermatozoa. Included in the vast number of his discoveries are the sperm cell and a rare disease that involves incessant hiccupping.
Titled as "little animals", Time reveals that the said animated Google Doodle shows the 'little animals', that later became known as bacteria, which he discovered after examining a drop of water from a lake using a microscope. Leeuwenhoek also wrote a letter addressed to the Royal Society of London where he described bacteria and other microbes.
According to Independent, he "saw a whole world in a drop of water,"
Moreover, Leeuwenhoek pioneered the designed single-lens microscopes, used to make a vast range of discoveries in the field of molecular biology, "to unlock the mysteries of everything from bits of cheese to complex insect eyes".
One of the lenses he created in his rooms on the Market Square in Delft, Netherlands, can magnify up to more than 200 times and examine capillaries, muscle fibers, spermatozoa and blood flow in capillaries.
His finely constructed home-made lenses made him discover organisms that were not seen again for another century.
Furthermore, he did not become an author of any books and his breakthrough were only made possible through correspondence with the Royal Society, which is also the one responsible for publishing his letters. It was believed that throughout his career he has sent more than 560 letters to the Royal Society.
Doodle designer Gerben Steenks said: "I chose to make it an animated Doodle to show the 'before and after' experience that Antoni van Leeuwenhoek had - looking through a microscope and seeing a surprising new world."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
